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Canastota's Owen Albanese takes down Whitesboro's Nick Giruzzi in the 220 pound quarter final in Canastota on Saturday. Albanese won the match with a pin at the 3:42 mark to advance to the semi finals.

CANASTOTA >> Since Canastota’s win at the Richard New Wrestling Tournament a year ago, one important thing has changed; the tournament’s name.

After coach John Tyler’s brother Tim lost his battle to cancer last winter, the Raider community wanted to honor his contributions to the wrestling program. And so the name was changed to Heroes Tournament.

“He would love it,” Tyler said, smiling. “He loved this sport. I think he’s looking down right now and smiling on all of us. It’s just an honor to have it named after him.”

Though the hosts came away with a close victory over Phoenix last season, this time it was Camden’s turn to take the title. Nine wrestlers advanced to the semifinals as the Blue Devils defeated Fulton by over 45 points for first place.

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“Everyone wrestled back and that’s how you win tournaments,” Camden coach Bill Sullivan said. “We’re not superstars but we’re all pretty tough and they showed that today.”

Dennis Hilts kicked off the finals with a win for Camden at 113, pinning Adirondack’s Brandon Gaylord in 3:04. He ended the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record.

“It felt great,” Hilts said. “I felt a lot stronger than he was.”

His teammates didn’t fare quite as well. Luke Mack and Ian Radell were both pinned.

Then at 195, Thad Casler faced a familiar opponent. After facing CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt’s Ben Honis in the championships of the Kenneth Haines Memorial Tournament last week, the two met again on Saturday. Unfortunately for Casler, the outcome was the same. Honis defeated Casler by an 8-0 decision for the title.

Owen Albanese was the lone Raider to make the finals. He was pinned by Whitesboro’s Tyler Hudson late in the third period.

“I would have liked to win,” he said, “But we wrestled tough for how young we are.”

Canastota trailed Chittenango by 6.5 points for 11th place.

Even so, Tyler was optimistic about the rest of the season.

“We tell the guys we want them to peak at the end,” he said. “In about four weeks, that’s when we want them wrestling their best. Hopefully we get them to that point.”

About the Author

Courtney Haupt, the assistant sports editor at the Oneida Dispatch, can best be described as a sports junkie. A recent Newhouse graduate, the Maryland native covers high school sports around the area. You can follow Courtney on Twitter at @DispatchHaupt. Reach the author at chaupt@oneidadispatch.com
or follow Courtney on Twitter: @DispatchHaupt.